It’s been a slow couple of weeks at Laurens Wildlife Rescue, with only one intake—a HBC (hit by car) king snake. I’ll be honest: I can clean maggots from an open wound without flinching; I cannot handle a snake without gloves. It’s one of those weird little quirks; go figure!

At any rate, the person who found the snake had it for several days while searching for someone to take it, and we initially thought the fact that he had survived that long was a good sign. Consults with Richie Hatcher at Smalley’s Animal Hospital and Steve Hicks of Bubba & Friends, who rehabs reptiles as well as raptors, confirmed my opinion that there wasn’t really a whole lot we could do from a rehab/veterinary perspective for a HBC snake. Since we really didn’t know when the king snake’s last meal was, the plan of action was to provide heat and a thawed rodent and hope for the best. Despite my efforts to coax the snake into eating by dragging the mouse around his pen, mimicking a live rodent, he refused to eat. I left the mouse with him for the night, in hopes he would eat; instead, I found the poor fellow in rigor the next morning.

Many people deliberately run over snakes, thinking they’re doing a service in the process. The problem is, drivers can’t tell from their cars whether the snake in the road is poisonous or not, so they often end up killing beneficial snakes like king snakes. For the record, non-venomous snakes are protected by Georgia law. The flyers have been placed in the pre-release pen and will more than likely be released by the next update, unless they decide to hang around for the winter. Flyers are very social and accepting of new members to their colonies, and since I have an established colony of flyers in the woods near my house, these two may take up with the colony pretty quickly. In other news, the flicker has been released, after a couple of weeks in the flight pen to build her stamina back up after two weeks in confinement. Even though she kept that right wing at a bit of an angle, she was flying around the flight pen beautifully, and when I opened the pen door, she hauled her feathered butt out and into the trees before I could even focus the camera. Below are some shots of her in the flight pen.

And as promised, here is a shot of her “pecking log” after her tender ministrations—I’m actually thinking about letting every woodpecker I rehab create such original “artwork” and selling it as a fundraiser! (Just kidding…I think…)

Speaking of fundraisers, we’re again offering a calendar for next year featuring photos of 12 of this year’s intakes. Lulu.com offered more room for creativity with the images and layout, as well as a larger portion of the purchase price for Laurens Wildlife Rescue, so the link for the 2013 LWR calendar is: http://www.lulu.com/content/legacy-lulustudio-calendar/lwr-2013-calendar/13378619 If you’re looking for Christmas gifts for friends, colleagues and/or relatives, a 2013 LWR calendar is a great option, and all proceeds over Lulu.com’s cut will be used to support our rehab efforts in 2013.

Too bad about the snake. I once kept a truck from running over a snake on a sand road in Miami by standing in front of it until the snake slithered into the grass on the other side. Driver thought I was nuts but was patient about it. Just ordered the calendar and assume it includes just the "success stories" ;-)
Ann

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Laurens Wildlife Rescue

11/18/2012 01:39:31 pm

At least the driver was patient! Thanks for ordering a calendar; only one of the photos isn't of a "success story."

Thanks, UW, and my reaction to snakes in general is pretty much the same as yours. That's why I have to wear gloves to handle 'em--just can't bring myself to touch one bare-handed, which is weird, I suppose, since I have no problems at all handling lizards bare-handed!

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Ann Feldman

11/21/2012 09:17:09 am

Snakes are warm and dry, but I think people are put off by how they feel when you hold them. They kind of squirm. I never had any problem touching them, but of course got bitten as a kid because I'd pick them up in the middle. (Did not do this often.)

Wendy Alvarez

11/19/2012 05:09:13 am

Vonda, your photos are always special, even when there's a sad story attached.... I do love that flicker - so pretty and glad she's free and flyin'! Many years ago before I taught art, I worked at the Denver Museum of Natural History (now the Denver Museum of Nature and Science) in the Education Dept. We had a program that went out to the schools called "Snakes Alive," and I grew very fond of our educational snake representatives! We had a Corn Snake named Kellogg and two King Snakes names Ferdinand and Isabella and some others that I can't remember. They were fascinating (and not slimy at all!!!!)!

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Laurens Wildlife Rescue

11/19/2012 05:21:43 am

Thanks Wendy! I'm glad the flicker was releasable, too. Yeah, I know snakes aren't slimy; they feel very much like lizards...which is why my inability to handle them without gloves is so weird, since I don't mind lizards at all!

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Jennifer

11/19/2012 10:31:00 am

Thank you for taking the snake. When I realized that it had been run over, I wasn't very optimistic. At least we tried and it was kept comfortable until it died.

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Laurens Wildlife Rescue

11/19/2012 02:02:11 pm

Thanks for bringing him to me, Jennifer. HBC snakes usually don't have much of a chance, but the fact that he had survived several days before you were put in touch with me had me, vet Richie Hatcher and fellow rehabber Steve Hicks somewhat optimistic that he might just pull through. When he refused that mouse, though, I pretty much knew we were fighting a losing battle. As you said, though, he died warm and as comfortable as possible, which wouldn't have been the case had you not picked him up from the road. Sadly, sometimes in wildlife rehab, that's the only comfort we can offer those who bring us injured critters.